SC's inaction on Marcos poll protest a cause for concern — Martial Law victims
MANILA, Philippines — The inaction of the Supreme Court, sitting en banc as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal (PET), on the electoral protest of former Sen. Bongbong Marcos against Vice President Leni Robredo is a cause for worry, a group of Martial Law victims on Tuesday said.
Despite having finished recounting the ballots of 5,415 precincts of the pilot provinces in question – namely Iloilo, Negros Oriental, and Camarines Sur – the Supreme Court en banc still has not made a decision, the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses to Malacanang (CARMMA) said in a Tuesday release.
CARMMA is a network of Martial Law victims, freedom advocates, and militant groups with origins in the anti-dictatorship movement under the late president's rule.
In a motion filed on Monday, Robredo's legal counsel, lawyer Romulo Macalintal, asked the tribunal to provide a copy of the Summary and Report on the revision, recount and re-appreciations of ballots from the three provinces.
The result of the recount will determine whether Bongbong's electoral protest will be dismissed or not.
“CARMMA is a witness of how the Marcoses subverted our democratic institutions to maintain their stranglehold on the government, entrenched themselves in Malacañang, while emptying our nation's coffers,” the group said.
“We are also witness to how the present administration has not jailed Imelda Marcos in spite of her November 2018 conviction in seven counts of graft for using her Cabinet position to maintain Swiss bank accounts during the Marcos dictatorship.”
Former First Lady Imelda successfully dodged seven counts of graft after anti-graft court Sandiganbayan allowed her to post bail and avail of legal remedies in November 2018.
“We are very aware of the Marcoses intent - a complete return to the highest seat of power, and their complete rehabilitation. They want the Marcos electoral protest to be their gold-lined path towards a comeback,” CARMMA said.
The late dictator Ferdinand Marcos placed the entire country under Martial Law on Sept. 21, 1972.
According to estimates by human rights watchdog Amnesty International, about 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured and 3,240 were killed in the Philippines during Martial Law.
Members of the Marcos family have repeatedly denied and downplayed the atrocities under Martial Law.
“CARMMA, together with the people, has been and will keep on raising our voices. We must not allow this to happen.”
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